A/N: The first half of this chapter will be original, and then go straight to Episode 201.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: HOMECOMING
Bridgehollow...
The train eventually slowed as it stopped at Bridgehollow's train station, where numerous townspeople were waiting, waving flags with Black Sun's emblem on it.
"There they are! They're back!"
Sebastian steps onto the platform, with Orion and Raden right behind him followed by Nox, Massorao, Aster, and Maxim. What they didn't expect was the townspeople of Bridgehollow to cheer loudly for them as they departed from the train.
"Welcome home, Black Sun!"
"Wow, what a homecoming..." Aster blinked in amazement.
Sebastian chuckled. "Considering we did win the entire tournament, I'm not at all surprised." He said.
The Black Sun members walked through the crowd towards their guild hall, hearing shouts of congratulation coming towards them.
"Massorao-san! Your battle with Erza was amazing!"
"No, when he fought Minerva! That had me on the edge of my seat!"
"This is so embarrassing..." Massorao muttered as Orion let out a laugh next to him.
"It seems everyone back home was watching us." Orion stated.
Everyone eventually settled back into the guild hall, and within a few days, the normal routine started kicking back in for everyone. Sebastian was currently on the second floor of the guild, his legs propped up on the table as he stared at the ceiling in boredom. Raden was next to him.
"I'm so bored." Sebastian sighed out.
"Wanna head out on a job?"
Sebastian removed his eyes from the ceiling, seeing Orion and Aster had joined them. "Is it just going to be us four or the team?" He questioned.
"Nox is out on a job with Kross and Massorao and Maxim are doing their own work solo. So yeah, it's just going to be us four." Orion replied.
"I suppose getting out of the guild hall would be nice." Sebastian agreed. "What's the job?"
Orion held the flier up to him. "Just a simple job. Taking out some monsters terrorizing a small village." He responded.
"Great. Let's go."
"Yo, Fairy Tail! Need some assistance?"
The Fairy Tail members looked up to see Sebastian, Orion, Aster, and Raden looking down at them. "Black Sun?" Lucy questioned.
Soon enough, the Black Sun members joined Team Natsu on a rooftop. "I see. You're dealing with a mole?" Aster asked.
"Yeah."
"Are you guys on your way back from a job?" Natsu questioned.
Sebastian nodded. "Our job was a few towns over." He responded.
"We'll lend you a hand. Don't worry about the reward money. We don't need it." Orion added.
"But with mud this deep, you can't tell where the mole is hiding, right?" Wendy asked.
"No problem. I have a good idea." Lucy pulled out a silver gate key. "Gate of the Clock, I open thee! Horologium!"
Horologium soon appeared from the gate. "It has indeed been a long time, everyone." He greeted.
Happy and Carla lowered Horologium - who was carrying Natsu - towards the mud.
"Natsu, we're gonna lower you down." Happy informed.
"We'll do it slowly and carefully." Carla added.
"'I'm lookin' forward to this!' he said." Horologium speaks for Natsu. "However, I myself am quite nervous about it."
"I'm sure it's tough, but please do your best." Wendy said.
"I'll wash you off later." Lucy promised as Horologium went into the mud.
The ropes began to shake. "There's a ruckus below!" Happy informed.
"Don't let go!" Carla said.
Both Fairy Tail and Black Sun members were on the boat. "It's begun..." Erza stated.
"Where's it gonna come up?" Gray wondered.
The mole suddenly appeared from the mud. "He brought it up!" Happy cheered as Natsu flew out of Horologium, the both of them landing on a tree.
"Let's go! Everyone, attack it together!" Erza ordered.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"Dino King's Royal Roar!"
"Ice-Make: Lance!"
"Hellfire Dragon's Roar!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
The five attacks headed for the mole, who dived under the mud before it could hit.
"Where'd it go?!" Gray questioned.
The mole attacked the boat as Raden quickly acted, sprouting his wings and grabbing Sebastian. However, the Fairy Tail members along with Orion and Aster were sent into the mud.
"Nice save, Raden!" Sebastian complimented, looking down where the Fairy Tail members and his guildmates were. "Are you guys okay?!"
Natsu had tried to attack the mole, but it dived once again in the mud, making him crash heads with Gray.
"That hurt, you jackass!" Gray shouted, grabbing Natsu's collar.
"You shouldn't have been here!" Natsu fired back.
"I guess there's your answer, Sebastian." Raden commented as Sebastian huffed in agreement.
"This is no time to fight!" Wendy said as Raden flew down, still carrying Sebastian.
"Where's the mole?" Erza asked as the mole appeared behind them. They all screamed before swimming away.
"Put simply, we just need a high place, right?" Gray questioned, creating an ice mountain. "Climb up, everyone!"
"I can't! It's too slippery!" Wendy said.
Lucy extended her hand. "Grab hold, Wendy!"
Raden landed Sebastian on the icy floor. "You saved me!" Wendy said.
"It's so cold! My butt's freezing!" Lucy complained.
"Beggars can't be choosers!" Gray told her.
"Where's it gonna come up next?" Natsu wondered.
"If it takes the bait and comes up here, we can ambush it, but..." Erza started to say.
"Be careful, everyone!" Happy warned.
"It's right below you! Directly below!" Carla said.
"Watch out!" Raden added.
Everyone looked down to see the mole below the ice. "It's there?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu punched the ice with a flaming fist, causing the ice to evaporate, causing them to fall back in the mud as Raden was too late to catch Sebastian.
"Think before you punch!" Sebastian scolded.
"It was a reflex action!" Natsu defended.
The mole then soon appeared in front of them. It glanced at Lucy. "What? Me again?!" She exclaimed as the mole began chasing her.
Lucy spotted a tree as she climbed up it. The mole made the tree topple over. Lucy used her whip to connect to a branch as she swung over.
"It won't give up!" Lucy shouted with the mole continuing to go after Lucy.
"That looks like fun! I wanna do it, too!" Natsu claimed.
"I'm not playing!" Lucy yelled in irritation.
"Lucy!"
"We'll save you!"
Happy and Carla both carried Lucy, who was in tears. Before the three of them ended up getting knocked by the mole while the others tried to attack it again.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Hellfire Dragon's Roar!"
"Ice-Make: Lance!"
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"Dino King's Royal Roar!"
The five attacks once again, headed for the mole. "Hey, are you all right?" Natsu asked.
"I'm not at all all right." Lucy replied, tears streaming down her face.
"I've got grit in my mouth." Happy said, also having tears streaming down his face.
"I hate this. Why is it only chasing me?" Lucy questioned.
The group returned to the mayor for more information. "It's a long story, but that mole was originally a villager's pet." He said.
"Pet?!"
"At the time, it was still a tiny, cute thing, but the owner suddenly moved far away and had to leave the mole behind here. The mole thought its owner had abandoned it, and turned bad. It ran away from the village, turned wild, and grew to a giant size along the way. And now the mole seeks revenge on humans."
"So that's what happened..." Gray muttered.
"The mole is making a point." Lucy said.
"Now that I know the circumstances, I feel sorry for it." Wendy claimed.
"That still doesn't explain why it's chasing after Lucy specifically." Orion pointed out with Erza humming in agreement.
"It's mole mating season now. The season of love. I'm sure it's attracted to Lucy-san, as she's a young woman." The mayor replied.
"In other words, it wants to marry Lucy!" Happy exclaimed.
"Actually, it wants Lucy to be its mate." Sebastian corrected.
"Don't joke about that!" Lucy scolded.
"I'm a young woman, too. Why doesn't the mole come after me?" Erza questioned.
"You're wearing armor, Erza-san. It probably can't tell your gender."
"Um, I'm a young woman, too..." Wendy pointed out.
"It seems that mole has a preference for women with a large bust. So it wouldn't..."
Wendy exclaims in shock as she is in tears.
"But if that's the case, we can come up with a strategy." Carla informed.
"Yeah, there's a way to lure the mole out." Happy agreed.
"Stare..." Everyone eyes Lucy, who looks at them.
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.
Lucy was on a boat in a wedding gown. "This is what they meant..." Lucy muttered while the others were on a rooftop.
"Lucy-san is beautiful!" Wendy complimented.
"I'm sure the mole will be pleased, too, and come right out." Erza claimed.
"Lucy, how about if we take a commemorative photo?" Happy suggested.
"You'd better not!" Lucy declined as the mole soon arrived.
"There it is!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Gate of the Virgin, I open thee! Virgo!" Lucy called out as Virgo appeared.
"Please tell me what to do, Princess." Virgo said, before dropping into the mud. "I'd actually like to go home and take a shower..."
"You just got here!" Lucy said.
The mole charged forward angrily. "Virgo, get that mole out of the mud! You're good at digging in the dirt, right?" Lucy asked.
"Understood, but first I'll take you to a safer place, Princess." Virgo grabs Lucy and drags her through the mud.
"This isn't safe at all!"
The mole chased after them. "That thing's fast for its size!" Natsu pointed out.
"It's keeping up with Virgo!" Happy added.
"Impressive!" Erza praised.
"Worry about me a little!" Lucy shouted.
"This way, Princess."
Virgo throws Lucy on a slab of rock. "Virgo, be careful!" Lucy warned.
"Now it's my turn to attack." Virgo claimed, diving underneath the mud.
The mole soon flew up into the air. "Now, everyone!" Lucy called out.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Hellfire Dragon's Roar!"
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"Dino King's Royal Roar!"
"Ice-Make: Lance!"
This time, the attacks struck the mole, causing an explosion. "Go, Erza! Orion!" Natsu called out as the two were on a tree branch. Orion had summoned a ghostly bow.
"We'll finish it off!" Erza exclaimed as she struck the mole with her hammer followed by a rain of arrows falling from the sky. The mole crashed onto the grass.
The mole was now caught in a net. "Well, now that we've captured it, what do we do with it?" Erza questioned.
"It's the owner's fault for abandoning the mole." Wendy said.
"Although if we let it go, it'll cause more trouble." Carla informed.
"Hey, mole, you want a bride that badly?" Natsu asked as the mole nodded its head.
"But I'm human. We can't get married. You understand that, don't you?" Lucy questioned.
"Princess, I'm back." Virgo said, appearing on top of another creature.
"Virgo!"
"What is that creature?" Happy asked.
"I searched underground and found a female mole. I thought having a companion would soothe it enough to stop harassing the village." Virgo explained.
"That's not a mole, or even the same species..." Lucy mumbled as both creatures had heart eyes.
"Oh! It looks like they'll get along!" Erza said as the mole broke out of the net, causing everyone to be in shock as they were being dragged along.
"I'm happy that I could be of use to you, Princess." Virgo commented as the group flew into the mud.
"I'm not happy!" Lucy shouted.
A/N: Yes, I decided to add Episode 201, since I didn't add it in my other two SYOC stories.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
~ Kaleb.
